Page 87 of A Realm of Fire and Ash

"Uhh." I furrow my brows. "No. We're friendly, and he has a soul bonded mate who is also my friend."

"Why did you save Azazel?" His voice is low and his gaze distant.

I pause, taken aback. He's talking like he's some kind of jealous lover, and it's jarring to think of him in that light.

"Because he, too, is a friend."

"Lover."

"I'm a virgin."

"I know, but you don't have to have intercourse to be someone's lover."

He stares at the vaulted ceiling for a few moments, then sighs and scoots so he's lying next to me.

"What makes someone a lover, then?" My voice is barely a whisper and comes out more of a squeak than anything.

“Soul bonds may be preordained by fate, but what constitutes a lover is something we craft with another. It can be a union of flesh and desire, but it can also flourish from shared conversations and time spent together.” He tucks his arm behind his head, a far off look on his face. “A lover possesses the ability to dismantle and rebuild us anew, and the depth of that connection transcends mere physicality." He turns to me, his gaze intense. "For love is a journey, not a destination, and the truest bonds are forged by the strength of the heart, not just the passion of the flesh.”

Wilder is my lover, too."What is Caius to you? Is he your soul bond?" I trace the stitching on the bedspread beneath me.

"No, he was my lover before our mating bond."

"And it doesn't bother you that he hits on other people?" I ask him.

"He doesn't."

I scoff. "But he hits on me all the—"

"You're different," he says, cutting me off and turning me to face him now.

"Why?"

His face hardens, and the air in the room shifts. He sits up and stares at me with a burning intensity.

"You just are." He climbs off the bed and strides out of the room without another word.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AGGONID

Guests cower away from me in fear as I stalk the halls, my shadows licking the walls and snaking around their ankles. They can feel the power radiating from me and keep their distance. I've spent the last two hours trying to stay away from Morte, afraid she'll know the depths of my feelings for her. That moment in our shared room, when she asked what Caius was to me, I could feel something coming alive in me. Things would be different if I'd never received that parchment from Mordecai, the seer who’d told me my fate. I'd almost killed him for it, but he’d gotten away.

I take a deep breath and push away my feelings. I have more important things to deal with right now, like figuring out why the hell Romarie's power has weakened so much since my last visit here. Ollin used to flex he could come and go as he pleased with his portals, so why the change now?

I make my way to the throne room and enter without knocking, as is my right. Inside, King Valtorious is seated on his throne with his advisor beside him. My steps resound throughout the chamber as I approach.

"Aggonid." His advisor greets me with a slight bow. "Good to see you." Finally, someone who respects the power thrumming through my veins. This is how you regard a god, though his use of my first name is a little familiar for my tastes.

"Lorcan," I reply coolly. "Why is Romarie low on power?"

He furrows his brow. "We're no—"

"What do you need, Aggonid?" King Valtorious interrupts, gesturing to the room. "Can't you see we're busy?"

I'm in no mood to be belittled by someone whose power is wholly insignificant compared to mine.

"I was just inquiring about the source of Romarie's weakening power."

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